Aspirin, on its own, shown to reduce heart-attack risk

An aspirin a day is as effective alone as with a powerful drug at preventing blood clotting in coronary vessels after a heart attack, Yale researchers have found. The six-year study of more than 5,000 subjects found no difference between heart-attack sufferers who used aspirin alone and those who used it in combination with the anti-clotting drug Coumadin. “There was no difference between the two groups in terms of total mortality, cardiovascular mortality, non-fatal myocardial infarction and non-fatal stroke,” said Michael Ezekowitz, M.D., professor of medicine and cardiology. Aspirin is cheaper than Coumadin and does not require monitoring. The study was presented at the American Heart Association meeting in November.